LES THERMES
In the very heart of the Quartier des Spectacles, a swimming pool is filled with 25,000 balls inscribed with quotes from Stoic philosophers.
SOCRATES AT THE SPA
In the very heart of the Quartier des Spectacles, a swimming pool is filled with 25,000 balls inscribed with quotes from Stoic philosophers: “For all things fade away and are soon buried in oblivion”, “Strive after things suitable to your nature”, “Pass each day as the last, and be neither violently excited nor torpid”. The demoralized business executive, a worker on a lunch break or a pedestrian rushing by can dive into a hot tub of philosophy! This singular oasis of dialectics turns strangers into accomplices joyously racking their brains. All and sundry are free to dip into aphorisms, wade into the depths of passionate discussion or dive for pearls of wisdom. The installation encourages forceful argument and philosophical somersaults. Part child’s play, part conceptual sauna, it offers a delightful antidote to urban individualism!
And to better refresh our neurons, a few philosophers will engage in debate at specific moments in this steam room of great minds on St. Catherine Street. Something worth thinking about!
PRODUCED BY L’AMICALE DE PRODUCTION
CONCEIVED AND CREATED BY FRANCE DISTRACTION – BELINDA ANNALORO + ANTOINE DEFOORT + JULIEN FOURNET + HALORY GOERGER + SÉBASTIEN VIAL
WITH THE CONTRIBUTION OF PHILOSOPHERSXAVIER BROUILLETTE, DOMINIQUE BULLIARD, MARC LAMONTAGNE, MARCELINE MORAIS, FRANZ-EMMANUEL SCHÜRCH, JULIEN VILLENEUVE
STAGE MANAGER EMILIE GODREUIL
PRODUCTION DIRECTOR VIANNEY BRUNIN
PRODUCTION MANAGER JULIEN FOURNET
ADMINISTRATION SARAH CALVEZ
BOOKING AND COORDINATION MANAGER MATHILDE MAILLARD
COPRODUCTION CENTQUATRE (PARIS) + LE VIVAT D’ARMENTIÈRES – SCÈNE CONVENTIONNÉE DANSE THÉÂTRE + BEURSSCHOUWBURG (BRUSSELS) + BUDA KUNSTENCENTRUM (COURTRAI) + RÉSEAU EUROPÉEN APAP + MUSÉE DE LA DANSE – CENTRE CHORÉGRAPHIQUE NATIONAL DE RENNES ET DE BRETAGNE + THÉÂTRE NATIONAL DE BRETAGNE (RENNES) + L’ENTORSE (LILLE) IN PARTNERSHIP WITH LA MALTERIE (LILLE)
PRESENTED IN ASSOCIATION WITH QUARTIER DES SPECTACLES
WRITTEN BY DIANE JEAN
TRANSLATED BY NEIL KROETSCH
WORLD PREMIÈRE AT CENTQUATRE, PARIS, APRIL 12, 2012
BELINDA ANNALORO + ANTOINE DEFOORT + JULIEN FOURNET + HALORY GOERGER + SÉBASTIEN VIAL (LILLE+BRUSSELS)
Playful and Experimental
Les thermes is part of a series of installations entitled France distraction, a sort of a travelling fair with kiosks and pitchmen, a fair that humorously questions the management of human resources in an era of neo-liberalism. The idea might have seemed crazy, but less surprising upon realizing that it comes from the whimsical minds of some of the artists behind &&&&& & &&& (FTA, 2012) and Germinal, presented at the Festival TransAmériques this year. France Distraction involves five artists based in Lille and Brussels: Belinda Annaloro, Antoine Defoort, Julien Fournet, Halory Goerger and Sébastien Vial. Specialists of incongruities, they do their utmost to disconcert us by inventing new modes of representation. Their work is produced by L’amicale de production, a cross between a company and a production office.
